


Our Duty is to Our People (But Our Destiny is Our Own)

by Ambs_Writes



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - the100 setting, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Grounders (The 100) - Freeform, Kara Danvers Centric, Kryptonian Biology, Lena Luthor Centric, Slow Burn, Slow Burn Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, Supercorp centric, Trigedasleng, shipps tagged are endgame, sporadic updates likely, supercorp as clexa, that's it that's the fic, updating tags and characters as i go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:15:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24712219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ambs_Writes/pseuds/Ambs_Writes
Summary: They will come from the skyThe one who will make the Mountain fall will come from the skyOne golden, one dark, both broken, they will give us the peace I cannotDo not forgetThe true Hedas will come from the sky
Relationships: Barry Allen/Iris West, Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak, Roy Harper/Thea Queen, Samantha "Sam" Arias/Alex Danvers, Sara Lance/Ava Sharpe
Comments: 8
Kudos: 47





	1. On The Ground Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I know, I have a million other things I should be writing but eh. This is what my mind came up with while in quarantine, and I thought I'd share. The first several chapters, I'm not exactly sure how many yet, will be all about Kara, the next ones after that all about Lena. This will probably be the slowest burn I've ever written. 
> 
> As this is heavily au, I took quite a few liberties with how Kryptonian biology reacts to radiation and Grounder culture in general. Although this is based in the world of the 100 and will follow the majority of that show's storyline through the second season, the ending will be much different. (Not that I've seen an episode of the100 past season 3). I hope you enjoy!

One hundred and ninety-seven years ago, the earth burned. A man that they had said was made of steel, who could move at the speed of light, wasn’t strong enough-fast enough-to save the world that had become his home. Betrayed by his best friend, Superman stood in the burning ruins of what had once been a great city. The capital of the free world now empty and abandoned to the hellfire that rained down from above. Radiation filled the atmosphere, so much that even Superman’s impenetrable skin was beginning to burn. His veins felt alight with flame, he could feel his body losing some of the strength he had known for so long. The battle was over, Lex Luthor had been killed by the last missile to hit Washington D.C., a supercharged nuclear bomb of his own creation that had ended up being his own doom. Superman had failed in his quest to keep humanity safe. 

But all was not lost. The evacuation efforts had been partially successful. Thirteen spaceships had been launched into the stars and set into orbit until they could all come together and form the Ark. A safe haven for humanity that would last for generations to come, until it was safe to return to the ground. Just like Clark, the people of earth had to run from their home and seek safety in the stars. Just like Clark had to do once again, but this time it would be different. This time he wouldn’t abandon his people. 

Superman left the destruction of Earth behind him as he flew to the final space station, Polaris, but he couldn’t ignore the screams of those he left behind. The survivors, the ones who hadn’t made it on to the shuttles and a familiar heartbeat that beckoned him back to the ground. He had to do something to help them, but he couldn’t do it alone. Two months after leaving earth’s atmosphere, the man of steel returned with a case containing several vials of his own blood, confident that any ailment on the ground would be cured by it. As Polaris exploded after Clark’s shuttle was launched and the other 12 stations began to unify, Clark crashed to earth. As soon as his skin was exposed to the irradiated air, fire burned in his veins. For the first time in his life, Clark experienced pain in it’s true form, not brought on by Kryptonite. When he felt warmth on his face, Clark touched the space above his lips and was shocked when his hand came away stained black with blood. 

Clark emerged from the ship sweaty and shaking, no longer a man of steel, no longer super. Still more than man, the First Commander joined his people with a promise of survival and hope. Superman died in the ashes of the old world and in his place Pramheda Kal arose. He shared his healing blood with his people, organized them and worked with them to find a way to survive on this broken planet. Just as he knew she would, Lois had remained on the ground as well and was doing the same as him. Together, they began to rebuild. 

The Commander lived and died in service to his people and after his passing, another nightblood warrior-a child of one whom Clark had healed with his blood that had been born naturally black-blooded-served in his place. Those who survived on the ground lived and prospered even as their warrior culture was born of necessity. The shadow of the mountain began to grow, as did the hostility between the forming clans. 

On his deathbed, tended to by his faithful and formidable queen, Heda Kal spoke his last words to his people. 

“They will come from the sky,” Kal said, “the ones who will make the mountain fall, they will come from the sky. One golden, one dark, both broken. They will come from the sky and they will do what I could not. They will bring peace to us all.” 

Kal looked to his wife then, the woman who had loved him since before the earth burned and said, “Don’t let them forget, Lois. The next true Hedas will come from the sky.” 

“I promise, Clark,” Lois gripped her husband’s hand, “I promise we won’t forget.” 

The man who was once made of steel left the waking world one final time. The Spirit of the Commander chose a new vessel, one who wore the mantle and symbol of the fallen leader with great pride. The Commander’s final words were immortalized in stone deep beneath the heart of the capital city. Lois, the first Queen and perhaps even more loved and respected by their people than her husband, followed him into the Great Light once her work was completed. She left behind a great story, a legend to all grounders and a promise of hope for the future. 

The grounders continued fighting, for land, for love, for safety, for freedom, all under the watchful eye of Heda and all with one eye searching for fire in the sky. 

Wars ravaged the land, great and terrible wars that made the rivers run red and the glowing forest weep. The final words of the fallen first commander were forgotten. The mountain's shadow grew darker and so, after two generations of unnecessary war and nearly a dozen fallen commanders, when fire rained from the sky again, the people did not rejoice. They feared what this fire would bring. 

Heda herself journeyed from Polis to investigate this heavenly fire. Heda Diana was the twelfth commander of her people, a ruthless warrior proficient with any weapon placed in her hands, and a caring, warm presence off of the battlefield. Many saw her as the greatest Heda since Kal himself but Diana knew that she was merely a placeholder. Diana had memorized the words carved into the stone beneath Polis. Diana knew who had finally come to Earth. 

Diana orders her guards to stay back and approaches the fallen vessel alone. She keeps one hand on her sword, holstered on her hip, and her grip tightens as the dark glass along the tops and sides of the vessel retreats with a sharp _hiss_. 

A girl sits in a plush seat behind the glass. She looks no more than twelve summers and her blue eyes are bright with unshed tears. A golden halo of hair surrounds her head and her chest heaves with deep, heavy breaths. Diana watches as the girl’s body begins to shake. The tremors move her entire body from head to feet and she squeezes her eyes closed in pain. When she opens them a moment later, they contain an unearthly glow. The color reminds Diana of an overheated blade being pulled from a forge, white hot and burning, dangerous. The girl grips the side of the ship and screams, forcing her eyes closed again. It is then that warrior in Diana steps to the side and the kind Heda steps up. 

Diana approaches the girl and pries her grip loose. Her hands, small as they are, leave deep gauges on the side of the vessel. Diana lifts the girl from her seat and cradles her in her arms. The girl tucks her face against Diana’s neck and clings to her tightly. They remain in the position until the girl’s small body ceases to shake and her tears begin to dry. It isn’t until Diana feels moisture too heavy to be tears on her neck that she pulls back. A trail of black blood drips from the girl's nose and stains the white tunic she wears. Diana dries the girls tears and whispers softly to her. 

“It’s okay, little one. You are safe now.” 

A small, shaking hand lifts and a finger presses against the metal symbol on Diana’s brow. 

“My family’s crest,” the girl says with wonder in her voice. Diana’s brow furrows and she takes a closer look at the imprinted symbol on the chest of the girls’ tunic. There, slowly being stained black by the blood still dripping from the girl’s nose, is the Commander’s symbol. 

“What is your name, young one?” Diana questions gently. 

“Kara,” the girl replies, “Kara Zor-El.” 

“I am Heda Diana. Will you come with me, Kara?” 

“Where will we go?” Kara asks without pulling away from Diana. 

“To the capital, Polis. My home,” Diana responds. “It is not safe to stay here for long.” 

“I need to find someone. My cousin Kal,” Kara says after a moment. “I’m meant to protect him.” 

“I will help you find him,” Diana promised. She knew the Kal that Kara spoke of had to be PramHeda Kal but she didn’t know how that was possible. The fallen Commanders that inhabited the flame Diana carried inside her told her to be calm, she would find the answers in time. She trusted them. “If Kal is here, he will be brought to Polis.” 

“Okay,” Kara nodded her head, “I will go with you to Polis.” 

Diana offered the girl a reassuring smile and helped Kara to her feet. Kara’s expression is one of determination but Diana can see that she is frightened. As they approach Diana’s guards where they remained on their horses, Kara’s steps slow and she places herself behind Diana.

“A child?” Diana’s guard asks in their native tongue. 

“A nightblood child,” Diana responds, “She will return to Polis with me. Make sure no one discovers her vessel. I will send a hunting party here, meet them and bring the vessel to Polis. Make certain you are not discovered.” 

“Sha, Heda,” the guard bowed his head. 

Satisfied that her orders would be followed, Diana turned back to Kara. Unable to follow their conversation, Kara had taken to staring at Diana’s horse. Her eyes were wide with amazement and a hint of fear. 

“Kara, this is Argo,” Diana petted the horse’s neck. “He will carry us to Polis.” 

“What is he?” Kara asked as she raised one hand to touch Argo’s nose. 

“Argo is a horse,” Diana answers and she watches as Kara smiles slightly when Argo nudges her hand with his nose. “Have you ever seen a horse before, Kara?” 

Kara shakes her head to indicate a negative answer. “He’s beautiful.” 

“He is,” Diana agrees. Argo is the best stallion of his herd, he moves faster than any other and his brown and white coat is gorgeous to look at. The Commander had trained Argo since she was a small girl, well before she ascended. “Are you ready to go?” 

Kara nods and moves to stand beside Diana. Diana helps the girl into the saddle and then swings up behind her once Kara is settled. Once they are both seated, Diana reaches into her saddle bag and pulls out an extra coat which she wraps around Kara’s shoulders. It is far too big for the girl, but it will keep her warm as they move north, where the air will become cooler as the sun fades. They’ll have to ride all night to arrive in Polis by midday. Once the coat is wrapped around Kara’s shoulders, Diana digs her heels into Argo’s side and they begin their journey to the Capital. 

Diana keeps their pace as steady as possible for Kara’s comfort, but the journey is long. Kara sits stiffly in the saddle until after the sun sets over the horizon. Then, she settles back against Diana as her body starts to grow heavy with exhaustion. She doesn’t close her eyes though; instead, she tilts her head back against Diana’s shoulder and watches the stars above them. Speaking softly, Diana begins to explain how she uses the stars to find her way. Diana names the stars above them and tells Kara which one to find, the brightest star in the sky named Sirius, to find true north. That’s the star they follow all through the night, even as Diana tells the legends of the constellations. Diana talks all through the night and although Kara doesn’t verbally respond, Diana knows she is listening. 

“There, just over that hill,” Diana pointed to a soft grey smoke billow in the distance. Kara nods in acknowledgment. “That is Polis.” 

“It’s smaller than I thought it would be,” Kara says. Diana laughs and clicks her heels to increase their speed. 

“Just wait little one,” Diana responds and they continue on in silence for a time. 

Finally, just before the sun reached the midday point in it’s journey across the sky, Diana pulled on the reins to bring Argo to a stop just outside the gates of Polis. The sentries posted there bow their heads as they greet Diana. 

“Welcome home, Heda,” the first guard says. “Shall we announce your return?” 

“No,” Diana dismounts from her steed and then turns to help Kara down as well. “We have a guest, I am taking her to the Heart Stone. No one will know that she or I are here.” 

“It will be as you command, Heda,” both guards bow their heads again and step back into their places on either side of the gate. 

Diana left Argo under the care of her guards and led Kara along the wall surrounding the capital city until they reached a hidden alcove. Kara hesitated to follow Diana down the dark incline. When Diana looked down at Kara, her eyes were wide with fear and her jaw clenched with the effort of holding that fear back. 

“There is nothing to be afraid of Kara,” Diana said softly. 

“I’m not afraid,” Kara replied though the shaking of her hands betrayed her true emotions. 

Diana didn’t reply but motioned for Kara to remain hidden against the wall while she stepped on to the hidden pathway. Just a few passes down, a fire pit sat waiting to light the torches Diana would use to light the way to the door beyond. Working quickly, Diana coaxed a small flame to life and used it to light two torches, which she carried back up to Kara. 

“Here,” Diana said as she handed Kara one of the torches. “As long as you carry the flame, the darkness cannot hurt you.” 

Kara accepted the torch with a slight nod of her head, took a breath and then followed the Commander down the hidden path. 

The path was straight and, after the initial drop into the tunnel, level. Kara and Diana made good time as they walked in the stale air with the sounds of their footsteps echoing off the dirt walls. Kara wasn’t sure how long they had been walking or how far they had gone when Diana’s step slowed and she came to a stop. Kara steps up beside the Commander and raises her torch. 

They stood before a great stone door where, in the middle, a copy of the El family crest had been carved. The stone seemed old but unworn, as if it hadn’t been opened in many years. 

“This place is very sacred to my people, Kara,” Diana looked down at the young girl, “and I suspect it will become very special to you as well.” 

Diana pushed on the center of the crest and the stone door opened as swiftly as the mechanical doors Kara had known on Krypton. The Commander stepped back and let Kara enter the cavern ahead first. Inside, the room glowed with a soft white light. A light which Kara quickly discovered the source of. Along the back wall, centered against the stones, a gleaming case of glass and metal housed a suit. Kara approached the case in silence even as she felt the tears leaving her eyes. The suit was made of a synthetic blue material and adorned with a red cape. Center on the chest in yellow and red, Kara stared at the imprint of her family crest. Kara knew this suit, she’d seen it before on her father and her uncle when they had worked with Krypton's military forces. Kara would have worn a suit nearly identical, without the yellow in the crest, when she joined the Science Guild. 

“That suit belonged to a very brave man,” Diana said. “The first Commander of my people. Without him, we would not have survived.” 

“What was his name?” Kara already knows the answer, can feel the truth of it deep in her bones, but she still needed to hear it. 

“To my people, he was PramHeda Kal, and he fell from the stars at our lowest hour to raise us up again.” 

“I don’t understand,” Kara lifted one hand and touched the glass casing right over the crest. “We left only moments apart. We should have arrived the same. I failed.” 

“Kara,” Diana said after a heavy silence in which silent tears rolled down Kara’s cheeks. “You cannot fail at that which you cannot control. If you are here now, it is because the spirits intended you to be.” 

“I was meant to protect him. He was only a boy.” 

“No one can be protected from everything, but that does not mean he was alone, or that he forgot about you.” 

“How could he remember?” Kara wiped at her eyes. “Kal was only a few weeks old when we left. He wouldn’t have any memories of home,” Kara turned away from the suit and found Diana gesturing at the other side of the cave wall. 

“He knew you would come, he told his wife just before he joined the spirits and the queen promised that we would not forget,” Diana motioned for Kara to join her at the wall and together they gazed at the mural. 

“Before the world burned,” Diana pointed to an image of a man in flight with a golden symbol on his chest, “the world was guarded by a man that they said was made of steel. He was a hero to mankind, but all heroes must have an enemy.” 

Another image, one man outlined in gold and another in green, locked in a fierce battle. “They fought again and again, the villain never gave up trying to rid the Earth of her guardian, but he could never succeed. The final battle between the two men devastated the earth as fire rained from the heavens.” 

“But this was not the end, for the earth is strong and resilient. Her people could prosper again but not without aid,” Diana traced her hand over the figure of a man kneeling before some sort of ship. “The man of steel returned to the broken world as a mortal. The gifts that he had been given by the yellow sun were gone and in their place black blood flowed through his veins. While he remained stronger and faster than the average man, he could no longer perform the great acts he had done before. This did not stop him from trying to help his people. A great spirit rose within him, the Spirit of the Commander, which guided him through his mission of saving our people.” 

“Heda Kal led us for many years, but in time we must all return to the spirits that give us life. In his final moments, Heda Kal spoke these words to his queen,” Diana directs Kara’s eyes to the lines of text which read, 

_They will come from the sky_

_The one who will make the mountain fall will come from the sky_

_One golden, one dark, both broken, they will give us the peace I cannot_

_Do not forget_

_The true Hedas will come from the sky_

The words, unlike the rest of the mural, were carved directly into the stone. Even if the paint that comprised the rest of the mural faded away over time, the words would remain. 

“He remembered our world,” Kara whispered, stunned. “He didn’t forget, he won’t be forgotten.” 

“No, his spirit, the spirit of the Commander has chosen all of our leaders, just as it chose Kal and myself. Just as one day, I suspect it will choose you,” Diana rested her hand on Kara’s shoulder. 

“How can you be sure? What if someone else falls from the sky?” Kara asked without looking away from the mural and the image of her cousin in flight. 

“I trust in the spirits Kara. They have never led me astray before. The Commander’s spirit will call on you,” Diana smiled warmly, “But do not fret, there is much to be done before that happens. Firstly, a meal. Shall we go?” 

“Will I be able to come back?” 

“I will bring you here myself whenever I am able,” Diana promised. “Okay?” 

Kara nodded. Diana smiled, pushed the door they had come in through closed and then Kara to another door on the opposite side of the cave that opened to reveal a staircase. If Kara had been only hungry when they began walking up the stairs, she was starving by the time they reached the top and then walked down a winding hallway to get to the elevator that would take them up to the Commander’s quarters. 

~

The Polis tower dining room was a flurry of activity compared to anything else Kara had encountered since landing on earth. Several spots along the large, rectangular table were filled with people of a wide range of ages. They all spoke in the same unfamiliar tongue that Diana had used with the few other people Kara had seen. Kara didn’t understand what was being said and that made her even more uncomfortable as she followed Diana to the end of the long table and found a seat for herself. 

“Natblidas,” Diana said as she sat down. Conversations around the table halted immediately and twelve heads turned to Diana. “A new nightblood child has been discovered and brought to us. Kara has travelled a long way to join us here. Be welcoming to our new blood sister and do not make her uncomfortable with your questions of stares. Am I understood?” 

“Sha, Heda,” the twelve nightblood children responded together. 

“Good,” Diana continued speaking in English for Kara’s benefit. “If you have finished your meal, you may return to your quarters. Kara will join you after she eats.” 

Kara remained silent as the twelve other children, she knew the oldest couldn’t have been more than a year older than her and the youngest only half her age, left the dining room after depositing their dishes in a bucket like object near the back of the room. She barely looked up as a bowl of steaming meat on a bed of greens was placed in front of her, or when Diana spoke again to the man who had given Kara her food. It wasn’t until Diana nudged her hand towards the wooden fork on the table that Kara began to eat, though she hardly noticed the flavor. Her mind was buzzing, her thoughts racing with the incredible speed she was meant to be gifted with upon her arrival to Earth. Krypton was gone, Kal was gone. Kal had already lived and died a hero and Kara hadn’t aged a day. From the story Diana had told, Krypton had been destroyed at least a century ago but to Kara it seemed like it had happened yesterday. If it had been anyone else, if Kara hadn’t come from a world with technology like Krypton, Kara would think that it was impossible. A lifetime couldn’t be as long as a day, except for one way. 

The Phantom Zone, a pitch black area of space where time did not pass. Krypton had used the Phantom Zone to house its prison and upon Krypton’s destruction, Kara must have been knocked off course and sent there as well. Her last memory of falling asleep in a never ending sea of darkness was real. Kara had lost everything while she’d been trapped in that darkness. Her home, her family, the life she could have lived. In this new world, where her blood ran black and the sun was yellow, Kara was all alone. 

“You summoned me, Heda,” a new voice said, pulling Kara from her thoughts. Two people had entered the room. They were both dressed in the same leather garb that Kara thought must function as some kind of armor that Diana wore and Kara could see the hilts of a weapon strapped to their hips. The older one, Kara assumed based on the way the shorter girl stood behind her, also had a length of carved wood with a string tying the two ends together and a collection of smaller wooden pieces decorated with feathers in a cloth bag across her back. 

“Nyssa,” Diana greeted, “and your young second, Alex?”

“Sha, Heda,” the younger girl, Alex, bowed her head. 

“How may we serve you Heda?” Nyssa asked, never one to wait. 

“This is not the place. Kara have you finished your meal?” Diana waited for Kara to nod, “Then if you will all follow me.” 

Diana motioned for Kara to walk alongside the young Alex as they left the dining room and journeyed up two flights of stairs. Diana led the small group to her private sitting room. It was normally used when Diana needed to converse privately with her delegates, or spies, outside of the throne room. This room was secure and secluded which was exactly what Diana needed. The Nightbloods, they would only know what Diana had already told them, as would the rest of her people, but Nyssa would need to know the whole story if she agreed to be Kara’s first. Kara would need to train like mad to catch up with the others and she would need the best trainer available outside of Diana herself. Nyssa was the only general Diana trusted to do this. 

“What I am about to say must never be spoken about outside of this room and your own private quarters,” Diana began as the doors closed behind them. Nyssa gave a short, sharp nod of her head in understanding. “You know the story of PramHeda’s last words? The prophecy he gave to Queen Lois?” 

“Certainly, the promise of a true Heda,” Nyssa gestured for Alex to relax from her tense stance after a glance at Kara, who looked increasingly uncomfortable. 

“No, not of one True Heda, but of two. Two Hedas who will bring peace to our people together. Heda Kal said they would come from the sky just as he once did,” Diana looked to Kara. “Yesterday, this girl fell from the sky. Her blood runs black and she already wears the symbol of Heda.”

Under the direction of Diana, Kara removed the coat she had been given and revealed the stained white tunic beneath. Nyssa looked at the symbol on Kara’s clothing and compared it to the Commander’s headpiece that rested in the center of Diana’s forehead. 

“A child of the prophecy,” Nyssa stated, “the next true Heda.” 

“One of them, yes. But for now she is simply a girl in need of help.” 

“You want me to train her,” It wasn’t a question nor was it stated as such. 

“Yes, but more than that I need you to teach her our ways. No one can know that she is not from this world. She must be as comfortable with our way of life as any TriKru warrior.” 

“This is no small task,” Nyssa said, her voice unemotional. 

“And there is no one else I trust to accomplish it,” Diana inclined her head in a show of respect. “If you agree, you will need to spend the next year here in Polis. Kara will need to be seen training with the others until her presence is unquestioned. You will work with her until the mid-day meal and, once you deem her ready, she will join the others in the afternoons.” 

“And my seken?” Nyssa asked. 

“Will remain as such until her training is complete,” Diana paused for a moment and switched from English to her native tongue. “Kara has lost more than any child should. I hope that as your second, she can gain so much of that back. In you, she will have a trainer, but in Alex she can have a friend. A sister.” 

“If you wish me to train the girl, I will, but I will not force Alex to accept her right away. If they are to train together, to trust one another the way you desire, they must choose to do so,” Nyssa bowed her head to her Heda. Diana returned the motion. 

“I will have quarters prepared for you and your second,” Diana switched back to English. “Kara, Nyssa has agreed to take you as her second. She will explain everything you need to know and report your progress to me.” 

“Okay,” Kara said slowly. Nyssa looked at her new charge and let her emotionless mask fall. Heda was right. Nyssa could see the pain and confusion in Kara’s eyes. Nyssa kneeled down in front of Kara. 

“Do not be afraid, Kara, you will understand all of this in time,” Nyssa promised, “but for now, you have travelled a long way and you must be tired. Alex,” the girl stepped up beside her first to receive her orders. “Take Kara to the Nightblood quarters and help her find something to sleep in. I will come collect you when our quarters are ready.” 

Alex bowed to show she had heard her instructions and moved to the door. Kara followed after a reassuring nod from Diana. Once the girls were one, Nyssa turned back to the Commander. 

“What else do I need to know?” 

Alex and Kara walked in silence down the hall towards the stairs. 

“We have to go down a couple floors to get to your quarters,” Alex explained, trying to maintain her expressionless facade. She was successful, until she glanced over at Kara and saw the sadness in her eyes. Alex let her curiosity show on her face. “Did you really fall from the sky?” 

“Yes,” Kara replied. 

“What was it like up there?” 

“Dark,” though the answer was only one word, Kara’s emotion was audible. Alex still wanted to know more but kept quiet. Something told her that Kara wasn’t in the mood to chat. Luckily they were saved from any awkward silence by another voice. 

“Alex, what are you doing here?” A masculine voice asked as Kara and Alex exited the stairwell. 

“I’m showing Kara to her room, Nyssa ordered me too,” Alex answered. “Kara this is Bart.” 

“You’re the new nightblood, right? Wow, we’ve never had this many before,” Bary gestured to Alex and Kara to follow him. “The younger ones are already in bed but Tana and Artemis should still be awake if you want to meet them. Axel and Trent, too.” 

“It’s probably better to settle in before meeting the others, right Kara?” 

“Yeah,” Kara agreed. “I had a long journey.” 

“Of course,” Bart stopped at a set of doors about a quarter of the way down the hall. “Kara, this will be your room. I’ll come get you for first meal at dawn so you can meet the others but if you need anything before then, my room is right across from you,” Bart gestured at a partially open door across the way, on the other side of what looks to be an open recreational area. 

“Mochof, Bart,” Alex gently pushed Kara into her room. “Reshop.” 

“Reshop,” Bart returned and then retreated back to the common area centered in the wide opening to gather his things and then he went back to his own room.

“Let’s see what fits you,” Alex said after the door closed. She led Kara to the collection of shelves in the wall that served as a dresser and pulled down a long sleeved shirt and trousers made of the same soft material. “Try these on.” 

Kara followed Alex’s direction and moved into an attached room that housed a tub, a toilet-like seat and a metal contraption that Kara didn’t recognize. She changed out of her tunic slowly, almost unwillingly. These clothes were all she had left of Krypton, these and her mother’s necklace that Kara left hanging around her neck. The clothes Alex had selected were soft against her skin and fit well enough. The pants were a little too long but Kara didn’t mind. The extra material kept too much of her feet from touching the cold stone floor. 

“Good, they fit,” Alex remarked as Kara returned to the room proper. “I set something out for you tomorrow, too. Nyssa will take you to get fitted for your training leathers.” 

That was not the only thing Alex had done while Kara had been changing. Now all the candles in the room were lit and the air felt warmer. Kara felt like she could breathe a little easier.

“Thank you,” Kara said. Alex nodded slightly like she knew Kara was thanking her for more than just the clothes. 

“First thing you need to do to fit in here is speak our language,” Alex sat down on a pile of animal furs that were raised off the ground. Kara joined her, belatedly realizing that the furs must be the blankets on the bed. “We’ll start with simple things. Repeat after me.” 

Alex modeled some common phrases Kara would need, like goodnight and good morning, hello and goodbye, yes and no, and showed Kara how to introduce herself. 

“Ai lak Kara kom TriKru,” Kara said slowly as Alex nodded along.

“Good, now say ‘yes,’”

“Sha,” 

“Thank you,”

“Mochof,”

“Hello,” 

“Heya,”

“Goodbye,” 

“Uh,” Kara paused, “ledia?” 

“Close, it’s leidon.” 

“Right okay, leidon,” Kara repeated the word a few times. 

“Ready for the next one,” Alex asked. Kara nodded. “Alright, say ‘sorry,’”

“Moba,” 

“Goodnight,” 

“Reshop,” 

“You’re welcome,” 

“Pro,” 

“Please,” 

“Beja,” 

“I see you’ve already started,” Nyssa’s voice kept Alex from asking for another translation and both girls turned their heads towards the warrior standing in the doorway. “Well done.” 

“We thought it would help Kara fit in some if she spoke our language,” Alex explained.

“Well done, young ones,” Nyssa praised. “We’ll continue this after the first meal. Come Alex, our quarters are ready.” 

“Reshop, Kara,” Alex said as she stood from Kara’s bed and joined Nyssa at the door. 

“Reshop Alex, Nyssa,” Kara bowed her head slightly in an imitation of what she had seen others do as Nyssa and Alex left her room. 

Alone with her thoughts for the first time since her pod landed on earth, Kara studied her new home. Her room was comfortable but bare, there was nothing to separate this room as Kara’s. The thought of making this place, this world her home broke Kara’s heart. She didn’t sleep that night. Every time she closed her eyes, she felt like the darkness would swallow her whole and her eyes would snap open again. Kara spent her first night on earth staring into the flame of a candle and remembering the red sky of Krypton, the world she would never see again. Kara was still staring at the dying candle’s flame at dawn when Bart came to collect her for breakfast.


	2. On The Ground Part Two

Heda Diana kept a close eye on her newest nightblood the first month Kara was with them. Kara was intelligent, alarmingly so. She learned their language in only a few weeks and had already shown strong diplomatic instincts while integrating into the group of novitiates. After the first week, Kara becomes the de facto leader of the nightbloods when they aren’t on the training fields, and Diana knows that it is only a matter of time before Kara takes the lead as warrior as well. Kara is a natural leader and once she’s trained, she’ll be a formidable warrior. On the surface, Kara seems to be settling into her new life and home quite well, but Diana knows that not all is well. 

Kara doesn’t sleep. 

At first it was hardly noticeable, Kara emerged from her room each morning looking refreshed and ready to face a new day. A few times, Kara would sit out in the nightblood common area with one of the other twelve novitiates until the sun rose again, learning more about her new world. On those nights, only Alex showed evidence of having been awake all night. Kara would always be in top shape in the morning as would whatever novitiate had ended up staying awake with them, usually Bart or Artemis. 

At the beginning of Kara’s second month in Polis, her body began to show signs of exhaustion. Her previously unmarred skin began to gain a plethora of marks and scars. She couldn’t move fast enough to dodge being hit or to block a strike. The new scars gave evidence of Kara’s warrior training, but Diana grew increasingly worried as she watched the nightbloods train. 

Kara was obviously lagging behind when it came to combat. She learned quickly but it would take time for her to be able to fight with the same efficiency as the others, which made the other nightbloods curious. Diana had told them that Kara came from a distant village where only the men were trained in combat. It was a plausible story, and one that rallied the female novitiates to Kara’s cause as they vowed to get Kara up to speed. She was slowly learning to hold her own while they sparred and the other twelve children were helpful by fighting at a level just above where Kara was at so she would have to fight for her win. Each battle became more difficult than the last and with each day that passed Kara began to struggle more and more instead of continuing to improve at a steady pace. 

During the evening meal, Kara was less engaging. She would eat her meal and sit with the other children and Alex, but she would only speak when spoken too. Her eyes had a far away look to them, as if she was still lost in the stars that had been her prison for so long. Bart and Alex worked together to keep the attention away from Kara but all the novitiates were aware of her distance to some extent. Diana attributed that to the connection they shared through the black blood in their veins. Diana herself could sense how off Kara felt, and that it was more than just her adjusting to her new life. 

After the meal, Diana made her way to the Nightblood quarters of the Polis tower and found 12 of her 13 novitiates sitting together in their common area. Only Kara was missing. 

“Natblidas,” Diana greeted them. “There is something troubling you.” 

“It’s Kara, Heda,” Tana said with a glance towards Kara’s room. “There’s something wrong. Her dreams aren’t right.” 

“Just wait,” Bart advised solemnly. “The sun is down, it will start soon.” 

All twelve children directed their gaze to the doors that led to Kara’s room and remained quiet. Diana watched them curiously. Never before had there been a group of Natblidas that were so naturally connected. Of course, there had never been so many novitaties at one time before either. There had only been six novitiates at Diana’s own Conclave. Diana could still see the black blood that had soaked the ground, hear the screams of her family, her siblings, as they took their last breaths. Diana felt as if she would never clean the blood from her hands. 

At some unknown signal, the Natblidas straightened their spine. Dez and Nomi, the two youngest novitiates at five and four summers respectively, squeezed their eyes shut and raised their hands to cover their ears seconds before the screams began. 

The sound was nearly inhuman, a deep, painful cry that resonated through the hall. Kara’s screams started as wordless, formless noise but they soon morphed into words. Kara cried for her family, for her home, for the people she had lost. She cried for the cousin she had never known and she begged the darkness to let her go, to return her to the home she was meant to have. Diana felt the tears welling in her eyes at the raw pain in Kara’s cries and looked to the other novitiates. 

“She’ll wake in a few moments and stay awake until the sun rises again,” Artemis had pulled Nomi into her lap and rubbed the little girl’s back in a soothing motion. “She may come out, she may not. It’s different every night.” 

“This has happened every night?” Diana asked softly. The screams had turned to quieter sobs but they could still be heard across every inch of the hallway. 

“Sha, Heda,” Bart answered. “Every night that she tries to sleep.” 

“We’ve been taking turns staying awake with her,” Artemis said. “It seems to help when she’s not alone.” 

“Thank you for helping your sister,” Diana said to them, stroking her fingers through Nomi’s hair. “Why don’t the twelve of you get some sleep tonight. I’ll stay up with Kara.” 

“Mochof, Heda,” Bart said with a bow of his head. “But we prefer to see if she’s okay first.” 

“You care about her a great deal,” It was partially phrased as a question and the novitiates nodded in affirmation. 

“She is from the sky, she will be Heda,” Bart looked back at Kara’s door. “Without her, we will not survive.” 

“How do you know that?” Diana questioned, surprised. As far as she was aware, the 12 novitiates knew only that Kara had come from a distant village, not that she was believed to be one of the two Hedas of prophecy. 

“Kara carries the Flame within her already. We have all seen it in her, in her eyes and her actions. She will be Heda,” Artemis said. “We did not have to be told, but we understand.” 

“The Commander’s Spirit did not have to choose Kara. She was born with that spirit inside,” Bart finished. Diana couldn’t help but look at these children in awe. Here they were, none of them old enough to be adults in their world, all of them trained from the time they arrived in Polis to one day fight to the death, and all of them accepting that their death was inevitable. Kara would be the next Commander when Diana’s fight ended, and it seemed that Kara was the only one who wasn’t aware of that. 

Before Diana could respond, the screams coming from Kara stopped and the novitiates relaxed into more casual positions. Minutes later, Kara’s door opened and the girl came walking out. She moved slowly as if she was expecting an attack. 

“Heda,” Kara paused upon seeing the Commander and bowed her head. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were with us tonight.” 

“Don’t apologize, Kara. It was a surprise visit,” Diana gestured for Kara to join them and took a seat on one of the open couches in the area. Kara hesitated for a moment and then placed herself in between Bart and Artemis. “Nyssa says you are progressing very well in your training, all of you.” 

“We do our best, Heda,” Artemis said humbly. “Nyssa is a great warrior, it is an honor to train with her.” 

Nyssa, just as Diana had expected she would, went far beyond Diana’s request to train Kara and had stepped in to train the other Natblidas when Diana’s other responsibilities pulled her away. Nyssa and J’onn, the Flame Keeper and mentor to Heda herself and the Heda that had come before Diana, worked well together and with the novitiates, who prospered under their care. 

“Tell me what you have learned recently,” Diana requested of them and she let herself relax into the warm persona she only let out around her young charges and closest companions. 

Although Diana made sure to listen attentively to each child as they spoke, she paid special attention to Kara. Kara was far more subdued than she was normally. Diana hadn’t seen her be so withdrawn since her first week in Polis. Her shoulders were slumped, her clothes slightly ruffled and her eyes were ringed with the red skin that indicated she had been crying recently-a revelation that wasn’t all that surprising given the screams Diana had heard earlier. Though Kara talked about what she was learning as Nyssa’s second, her voice was soft and demure rather than the confident, assertive way she normally spoke. 

One by one, the younger nightbloods began to head to bed until only Bart, Artemis, Kara, and Diana remained in the common area. 

“We don’t mean to keep you up, Heda,” Kara said after a few minutes where Bart and Artemis tried to fill the silence with meaningless small talk. “We all have training in the morning, we should sleep.” 

“Good idea, Kara,” Artemis stood up, dragging Bart with her and pushing him in the direction of his room. “Reshop, Heda.” 

“Reshop, young ones,” Diana called back, chuckling slightly as Bart was shoved into his room unceremoniously. “I see you have found your place with you blood brothers and sisters.” 

“I try to blend in, just as you ask,” a half smile stretched Kara’s lips. “They make it easier. Alex, too. I don’t know where I would be if I didn’t have Alex.” 

“So the two of you are getting along?” Diana questioned lightly. Kara nodded her head. 

“I normally don’t like her after training, but that’s just because I can’t beat her yet,” Kara laughed softly. “But it’s nice that she knows everything, about how I came here and who I am. I don’t feel as alone as I did before.” 

“That is wonderful,” Diana cast a glance at one of the bedroom doors, Tana’s, when she hears a sound from behind it. “Perhaps we should continue this conversation in your room? If you aren’t too tired.” 

“No, I’m fine,” Kara shook her head. “But shouldn’t you return to your own quarters? Won’t people be looking for you?” 

“The guards know where I am. Besides,” Diana stood and motioned for Kara to do the same, “I am Heda. If I wish to stay up all night with one of my novitiates, no one can stop me.” 

Kara chuckles and leads Diana to her quarters and, while Diana sits on the edge of Kara’s bed, Kara lights a few candles around the space. Diana notices that a few of the candles are nearly burnt out and makes a mental note to have more brought to Kara’s room in the morning. Kara sits beside Diana once the candles are lit and plays with her hands in her lap. 

“I know why you came down tonight and why the others were still awake at this hour,” Kara says without looking up. “I know they can hear me every night.” 

“They did not tell me about your screams, Kara. I came to visit tonight because something in my spirit said that I needed to be here.” Diana could sense that she wouldn’t be leaving Kara’s quarters that night. Her instincts, the fallen Hedas that resided deep in her spirit, gave Diana the impression that if Kara were to sleep, she would need to do so with someone that she trusted in the room. 

“Something in your spirit?” Kara asked, watching as Diana slid backwards along the bed until her back was resting against the headboard. Diana nodded her head as she maneuvered the blankets on Kara’s bed, folded down already from Kara’s earlier attempt at getting some rest, so they covered her cold feet. 

“The Spirit of the Commander that chose me, all the past Commanders speak to me through that. They guided me to you tonight.” 

“How do you know it was them? The past Commanders, I mean,” Kara slowly made her way so she was sitting beside Diana with a few inches of space between them. “How do you know it’s not something else?” 

“It is difficult to explain,” Diana wrapped her arm around Kara’s shoulders and pulled the child closer. Kara stiffened for a moment but then she let herself relax and tucked her head against Diana’s shoulder. “I can feel the previous Commanders within my spirit. There have been eleven before me and each of them has their own distinct impression within the Flame. They speak to me in my dreams at times, and very rarely, I can hear them whisper into my mind. I know it is truly them, truly a Commander speaking to me because I trust my intuition. Do you understand?” 

“I think so,” Kara hid a yawn behind her hand as, in the safety of Diana’s embrace, the woman who had stepped into the maternal role Kara desperately needed in her life after landing on Earth, Kara’s many sleepless nights began to catch up with her. Unconsciously, Kara cuddled closer to Diana. “Have the previous Commanders ever spoken to someone who isn’t a Commander yet?” 

“Not that I know of,” Diana began to stroke Kara’s hair gently, the motion soothing the last of the tension in Kara’s shoulders away. “Why?” 

“I think they might be speaking to me, or at least Kal is,” Kara’s eyes were beginning to grow heavy with sleep. “Sometimes when I dream, I don’t see Krypton. I see earth as it was before Pramfaiya, before Kal ascended.” 

“Is that all you see?” Diana almost regretted purposefully trying to make Kara as relaxed as possible so she would sleep but she knew Kara needed her rest. There would be time to talk about her dreams in greater detail later. 

“No, it changes. Sometimes I see a palace of ice, sometimes I see the Mountain, and sometimes I just see Kal looking up at the stars. I think it’s some kind of message for me. A warning,” Kara yawned again and let her eyes fall completely closed. She was asleep before Diana could ask her what the warning meant to her. 

Moving carefully to not wake Kara up, Diana pulled the furs over both of their bodies and lowered them into the bed so they were both lying down. Kara stirs for a moment and then settles back into a deep sleep. Diana stays awake for a while longer, waiting to see if the screams will begin again. Kara doesn’t make another sound. Satisfied that her novitate will at least sleep through the night, Diana let’s her own eyes fall closed and slips into her dreams. 

In the morning, Diana is awoken by the sound of the door being slowly pushed open. Diana opens her eyes and sees Nyssa and Alex there, both looking a little amused at the sight of Diana half asleep with a twelve year old girl clinging to her like a koala. 

“Heda, your delegates await your presence in the throne room. Another border dispute has arisen between the Glowing Forest and Broadleaf,” Nyssa spoke quietly as to not awaken the still slumbering Kara. 

“Yes, of course,” Diana extracted her arm from beneath Kara’s shoulders and smiled when the young girl rolled over and continued sleeping. “I am excusing Kara from her training for the day, I believe this to be the first time she has slept through the night in a month or more.” 

“So what Artemis said about her nightmares are true?” Alex asked and then seemed to chastise herself for speaking out of turn to Heda by shrinking back and bowing her head. 

“Artemis spoke to you about this?” Diana ushered the warrior and warrior in training into the hall so they wouldn’t wake Kara by speaking too loudly. 

“Sha, Heda. Kara would never admit that she wasn’t sleeping when I asked but I could see her becoming more exhausted each day. The natblidas noticed as well, but they wouldn’t tell me anything other than that they could hear her each night.” 

“Out of loyalty to Kara I suspect. Last night I was told by all the other children that they know Kara will be Heda one day. They said we will not survive without her,” Diana said as she went about straightening her rumpled clothes. She would need to change before seeing her delegates. 

“Your novitiates seem to be unusually well informed,” Nyssa remarked whirly. “A matter for another day. Did Kara get any sleep last night?” 

“Yes, she seemed to do better when she wasn’t alone. I suspect that the years she spent trapped in darkness have had a greater effect on her than we realized,” Diana looked to Alex again then. “I know you have your own training to attend to, but would you mind staying with Kara? I believe she trusts you enough to be able to rest in your presence.” 

Alex, looking surprised that Heda had made a request of her rather than an order, nodded her head. “Of course, Heda.” 

“Good, come find both of us when Kara awakes. There are some things we need to discuss,” Diana waited for Alex’s nod again and then she began walking down the hall as Alex stepped into Kara’s room. Nyssa followed her Commander silently, not questioning her decision to dismiss both Alex and Kara from their duties for the day, but wondering what Diana wanted to speak about once Kara was awake. That was a conversation that was sure to be enlightening. 

~

Kara slept all through the day and night and awoke just as the sun rose the next morning. Diana was no longer sitting with her and her stomach rumbled with hunger as Kara sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. For a moment, everything seemed normal, but then Kara noticed the sound of sheets ruffling closeby. Sheets that were not her own as Kara removed the top sheet from her bed early on, preferring the softer texture of the fur blanket to the scratchy threads of the sheets. Looking closer at her surroundings, Kara noted with surprise that a second bed had been brought into the room and placed along the wall on the other side of Kara’s closet. Kara’s own bed had been moved slightly so that they were equal distance apart from one another and the wall on both sides. A familiar mop of red-brown hair rested against the pillows. 

“Alex?” Kara questioned. Alex groaned quietly and pulled the blankets over her head. 

“Some of us haven’t been asleep for a day and a half, Kara. Keep it down,” Alex grumbled out. Kara blinked in surprise. 

“Asleep for a day and a half? Me?” 

Alex groaned and sat up in bed. “Yes, you,” Alex ran a hand through her hair and yawned. “I was surprised when you didn’t wake up when we brought the bed in. The Natblidas aren’t exactly quiet.” 

“I don’t understand,” Kara said. “What happened?” 

“Your mind finally let your body rest,” Diana said from the doorway. She had come down to check on Kara and was pleased to see that she had awoken peacefully. “I thought it best to let you sleep until you were ready to wake.” 

“But why is there another bed in here?” Kara questioned, her brow furrowed. 

“Heda sent Nyssa to help settle a border dispute between the clans. She could be gone for a long time and I didn’t want to stay in our quarters alone. Since you and I are both Nyssa’s second, we have the right to room together,” Alex said casually but she couldn’t quite look Kara in the eyes as she spoke. Kara smiled slightly. 

Alex knew about her nightmares, as did Diana-Kara had hazy memories of talking to Diana about her dreams just before she fell asleep-and they had worked together to make sure Kara would be comfortable enough to rest each night. The part of Kara’s heart that feared she would never have a family again healed just the slightest bit. Alex and Diana, Nyssa and the other Natblidas, they were becoming the family Kara never expected to find. 

“That is, as long as you don’t mind?” Alex sounded oddly nervous, like she thought Kara would be angry with her for what she had done. 

“No, I don’t mind,” Kara replied quickly. “As long as you keep your side of the room clean.” 

“Of course you had to come to Nyssa’s quarters the one time I forgot to make the bed,” Alex rolled her eyes and climbed out of her bed, straightening the covers after she stood. Kara followed suit with a laugh. “Yeah laugh all you want, you won’t be laughing much later. You have a full day of training to catch up on.” 

“But Nyssa isn’t here,” Kara said. Alex pointed at Diana. 

“Heda agreed to work with us while Nyssa is gone,” Alex laughed as Kara paled slightly. She knew that one did not become Commander by being weak. Diana had received extensive training just as Kara was doing now. Everyone knew that the Commander was the best warrior in all twelve clans. 

“Yes, this will give me a chance to see your progress first hand,” Diana smiled at Kara and held in her own laugh as Kara swallowed audibly. “But first, you should eat.” 

At Diana’s words, Kara’s stomach let out a loud rumble and she ducked her head in embarrassment. 

“Let’s go, Natblida. Get dressed so we can eat,” Alex pulled Kara towards the closet and they both began to search for clothes to wear for the day. Diana excused herself from the room and left only to find twelve expectant faces waiting in the hall. 

“Is she awake?” Artemis is asked. 

“Is she okay?” Bart continued. 

“Yes, Kara is awake and seems to be fine. She will join you all for breakfast,” Diana made a shooing motion with her hands, urging the Natblidas out of the hallway. Bart nodded his head and moved the others along. They left the hall a few moments before Kara’s door opened and both Kara and Alex stepped out dressed and ready for the day. “Shall we?” 

Kara and Alex fell into step behind Diana as they made their way to the dining room where the other twelve nightblood children were making an effort to seem like they hadn’t spent the last day waiting anxiously to see if Kara would be alright. Diana smiled at the way the novitiates were acting, overly casual all of them except Nomi who asked Kara outright if she slept better. Kara settled in to eat with an ease to her movement and posture that Diana feared she would never get. 

After breakfast, the group of Natblidas and Alex followed Diana down to the training grounds where Flame Keeper J’onn was waiting for them. The young warriors spread out around the grounds to begin their training, some grabbing bo staffs or training swords and some preparing to spar hand to hand. Nomi and Dez made their way over to J’onn where they were working on throwing knives as the older children spread around the grounds. Kara and Alex followed Diana to the center of the field. 

“We’ll begin with hand to hand combat,” Diana said and gestured for Kara to step back. “One at a time, for now.” 

Kara gladly stepped back to let Alex work with the Commander first, hoping that if she had some time to watch Diana fight it would help her relax. Kara had yet to fight against Diana in any form and she was not exactly eager to try it now. She was still so far behind in her training and half of the time she fought, she lost. She knew that part of the reason she lagged behind was because Kara simply didn’t like hurting other people unless she absolutely had too but the other part was pure inexperience. Everyone she trained with had at least two years of training while Kara was just beginning her third month. 

Watching Diana fight, Kara quickly realized, did nothing to ease her nerves. Diana moved faster than anything Kara had ever seen before, her expression set in grim determination. Her strikes were powerful and calculated, as were her dodges. Kara had never doubted that Diana was the greatest warrior their people knew, she had to be to be Heda, but seeing the evidence of that made the truth hit her just a little bit differently. This was the kind of warrior Kara was expected to be someday. 

The fight was over quickly, ending with Alex on her knees while Diana had one foot on her calf to keep Alex pinned down and one arm around her neck to restrict her breathing. Alex was panting when Diana released her moments before she would pass out from lack of oxygen. Kara swallowed thickly as Diana helped Alex to her feet and the two began to discuss what Alex could have done differently and how Diana would have responded to those moves. 

“You did well, young one,” Diana praised. “It won’t be long before you’re ready to join the warriors on the front lines.” 

“Mochof, Heda,” Alex said respectfully and stepped back to clean up the blood on her face from a split lip. Diana motioned for Kara to step up and, after a deep breath, Kara did so. 

Kara didn’t notice the way activity around the field stopped as she readied herself for the match, but Diana did. Sparring matches around them halted, the rhythmic thump of knives impacting wood stopped and a hush fell over the area. It was sure to be a sight to behold, the present Heda facing off against the future Heda. Diana shook her head to clear the distracting thoughts and prepared to fight. 

Kara had decided to wait for Diana to strike first and took up a defensive stance as they began to slowly circle one another. Her blue eyes were cool, calculating, surveying every inch of Diana’s stance in search of any hint of weakness. Kara didn’t see one that was big enough for her to exploit with her somewhat limited knowledge. The hairs on the back of Kara’s neck stood and she paused her movements, waiting. A second later, Diana began her attack with a series of quick jabs directed at Kara’s torso. Kara blocked the first two hits, but the third connected with her abdomen. A normal warrior would have doubled over at the impact, Diana wasn’t holding back as much as she had been against Alex, but Kara was anything but a normal warrior. She simply grunted and bowed into a half bent over position and so she was able to prepare for Diana’s next move, a knee to the chin, and dodge. 

Kara rolled to the side and then swept her leg out, knocking Diana off her feet. Following the momentum of her swing, Kara swooped into a standing position with her arms in front of her, ready for another strike. Diana kicked herself off the ground and attacked again, this time aiming for Kara’s legs. Kara ducked the high kick aimed at her head at hit Diana’s abdomen with a powerful strike. Diana barely made a sound at the impact and reached for Kara’s arm, lifting her into the air and then dropping her harshly on the ground in a move that was far too flashy and elaborate for a real battle but was sure to entertain the group of young warriors watching them. 

Kara grunted as her body impacted the ground and she finally noticed the eyes on her and Diana as the youngest members of the group gasped at the move. Glancing around as she stood up, Kara realized that the other Nightbloods and Alex weren’t watching Diana and Kara, their gazes were focused only on Kara. They were watching Kara spar against the Commander, and more than that, they were expecting Kara to hold her own. Perhaps she wouldn’t win, not yet, but she wouldn’t go down as easily as Alex had. The weight of their expectations settled on Kara’s shoulders the same way her mother’s last words had.  _ You will do extraordinary things.  _ Her mother had made that statement thinking that Kara would gain superhuman abilities under the yellow sun. In a way, she had been right. Kara couldn’t fly or carry a building on her shoulders, but she was still more than human. She was stronger, faster, her senses better. She could still do the extraordinary things her mother said she could. Better than that, Kara didn’t have to do those extraordinary things alone. There were others like, others who were stronger and faster and whose blood ran black. These people, the descendents of the people Kal had cured using his blood, they all carried a little piece of Krypton in them. These people were Kara’s people, and one day she would have to fight for all of them. This was Kara’s first test, the first one that really mattered, and she was going to pass it. She was going to best the Commander in combat. Maybe not just then, but someday it would happen. 

Diana saw the change in Kara as she climbed to her feet and surveyed her surroundings. Her stance changed, Kara held her shoulders straighter, her chin higher, and her eyes no longer held the apprehension she had before. Diana was no longer fighting a scared girl who felt out of place in her own skin. Instead, she was facing a young warrior in training. The change was subtle but there, and Diana knew that it would make all the difference in the coming months. 

Kara didn’t hesitate this time and attacked first, aiming a powerful kick to Diana’s upper leg. Diana dodged the kick and blocked the following moves Kara attempted to make against her. They spun in a dazzling dance, Kara was utilizing the gifts of her black blood to her advantage and forcing Diana to do the same. Although Diana wasn’t hit nearly as many times as Kara, the blows Kara did manage to land were powerful and effective. Diana suspected that the next time she and Kara sparred, she would have to fight at full strength rather than half. Even at that, Diana had to use more of her strength that she initially thought to keep Kara on the ground when she finally had her pinned down. 

“Yield,” Diana commanded Kara in the language of the warriors. Kara struggled against Diana’s grip for a moment. “ _ Yield. _ ”

“I yield, Heda,” Kara said through gritted teeth, as if admitting defeat physically pained her. Diana released her hold on Kara immediately and took several steps back. Kara rolled from her stomach to her back, panting as she looked up at the blue sky above her. The yard was silent, Diana, J’onn, and all the children waiting for Kara to react in any way. Alex approached her sister second and nudged Kara’s leg with her foot. Unexpectedly, Kara began to laugh. 

“How hard did you hit her?” Alex directed her question to the Commander as Kara continued to laugh joyfully. Alex suspected she had some kind of head injury. 

“No harder than she was hitting me,” Diana wiped her brow and was mildly surprised to find her fingers dotted with blood and sweat. It seemed Kara’s last strike to her head had managed to open a small cut along Diana’s hairline. “She’ll be alright in a minute.” 

Alex looked skeptical but didn’t comment. Diana moved over to the other children and ushered them to get back to their own training and leaving Kara in Alex’s care. As the Nightbloods returned to their training, Artemis and Bart made their way over to where Kara and Alex were still in the middle of the yard. Kara, as if she sensed the other two Nightbloods approaching, tore her gaze from the sky and looked at them as she held both of her hands up. Slightly wary, Bart and Artemis each grasped one of Kara’s hands, one on either side. A moment later, in a move that proved to both of them that Kara was indeed physically stronger than they were, all the Nightblood children were laying in the grass with Alex standing over them. Kara was still giggling. 

“What’s so funny?” Artemis asked curiously as she made herself comfortable in the grass. 

“Nothing really,” Kara answered, looking back up at the sky. “I just realized something while I was fighting Diana.” 

“What’s that?” Bart questioned from Kara’s other side. Kara hummed slightly and delayed answering when she felt the air around her head move. Tilting her head back, she saw Alex laying down with them, placing her head between Kara’s and Artemis’s shoulders. Alex caught Kara’s eyes and raised her eyebrows, daring Kara to comment on Alex joining them. Kara simply smiled. 

“I’m not alone,” Kara directed her gaze back to the sky and for the first time, she was happy to see blue instead of red. “When I was sent here, I didn’t think there would be anyone like me. I had my cousin, but he was just a baby. It wouldn’t have been the same. But with everyone here, I realized it’s not just me here. I didn’t really lose my people, or if I did, I found them again.” 

“So that’s why you were laughing,” Alex commented. “You’re happy.” 

Kara hummed her agreement with a smile. She was happy. She missed her family and the life she had known on Krypton, but life on Earth wasn’t so bad. Not when she had people to share it with. The four teenagers remained lying in the grass until J’onn noticed that none of them were training and broke up their little party. As training resumed, Kara caught Diana’s eye across the field and offered the older woman a respectful nod. Diana returned the gesture with grace, understanding the silent promise Kara was making. Next time, Kara wouldn’t go down so easily. Diana was looking forward to the challenge. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Next chapter will hopefully be up soon! 
> 
> (Sorry for any errors, I'm posting from my phone)


	3. On The Ground Part 3

The days grew colder and shorter even as Kara’s strength and prowess increased. By the winter festival, Kara was speaking, training, and dressing like she had been born a TriKru warrior. No longer seeming out of place, Kara was able to mingle about Polis in her free time with the other Natblidas and was eagerly awaiting the time she could venture out of the city with her fos. Nyssa was very happy to see the progress both of her young charges had made when she finally returned from settling the border dispute between two clans almost four months after Diana had dispatched her. Neither Kara nor Alex were aware enough of the conflicts between the two clans, Broadleaf and Glowing Forest, to question if that was all Nyssa had been dealing with while she had been away, nor did they know the realities of the Mountain. 

Upon her return, Nyssa reported that there had been an increase in Reapers surrounding the forest that marked the Mountain's territory, and that the poison gas had claimed more than three dozen lives while she had been in the area around Ton D.C. The villagers were frightened and wary of all outsiders, the mistrust resulting in small skirmishes between clans that would quickly lead to war if they went unchecked. No one knew who to trust when they were standing in the shadow of the Mountain. 

Diana was unsurprised by the news as it only confirmed what her scouts had been reporting for the last few days. There was change coming, another brutal war that would bring more devastation to her people than it would bring hope. Diana could feel the change coming, hear the whispers in her mind from the previous Commanders as they warned her. Diana had three summers to prepare Kara to be Heda. The fourth summer, Diana would not survive. There was much to be done before that time. 

As the days began to grow warm again, Kara’s training allowed her to explore the world just outside the walls of Polis. She trained and rode her own horse, whom she named El, in the fields outside Polis, and learned the art of blending in with her surroundings in the treeline a short distance away. In both practices she excelled, and as her abilities as a warrior increased, so too did the respect the other Nightblood children had for her. By the end of her first year with them, Kara had moved from being the de-facto leader of the Nightbloods when Bart or Artemis wasn’t around, to being the true leader. She’d earned their respect and trust, and although she didn’t know it yet, they would all lay down their lives for her. Kara would be the next Commander. 

Diana watched the young girl begin to flourish into the remarkable warrior she would become with a sense of motherly pride. All the Nightbloods were her children to some extent, she helped raise and train them and prepare them for a position that may never be theirs. Many of her current novitaties missed out on being in Diana’s conclave due to their age. Bart, Artemis, and Tana had all been at Polis and training for the required minimum of two years when Diana’s conclave began, but none of them were old enough to participate. Diana watched them all grow and train with great pride, but Kara would always be different. Kara would always be more, more than Diana could ever hope to be. More compassionate, more forgiving. She was born to lead and when her time came she would be their people’s greatest warrior. 

“Heda,” Diana half turned to greet her general as Nyssa walked into her throne room. Diana stood on the balcony, looking out over the city as she pondered Kara’s future. “I believe it is time to continue Kara’s training outside of the city.” 

“You believe she is ready?” 

“Sha, Heda,” Nyssa said. “She speaks, acts, and looks like any other Trikru warrior. It is time she learned the ways of our people outside the city.” 

“And the mountain?” 

“You know as well as I that Kara will need to learn everything she can about the Mountain if she will ascend to the throne. There is no better place to learn than on the front lines.” 

“There is no more of a dangerous place to learn either,” Diana remarked, still looking out over the city. “War is no place for a child.” 

“None of the nightbloods are children,” Nyssa said quickly and then ducked her head in shame. Of course Diana knew the realities of being a Nightblood far better than Nyssa ever would but the rebuke Nyssa expected for her words never came. “The older Nightbloods will soon have their own fos from their home village to complete their own training. And Alex, she has done well here and I have no doubt she will make a finer general one day. She has given up a year of her training already and soon she will be ready to face her own trials as a warrior. Neither of them can learn any more stuck within the walls of Polis.” 

Diana truly didn’t need to be convinced that Kara was ready to leave the protective walls of Polis but neither did she feel ready to let Kara go. There were still many lessons to be had, stories that only Diana could tell, and only three years to tell them in. 

“I will allow you to continue Kara’s training outside the city as is your right as her first,” Diana fully turned towards her general now. “But she must return in two years time, so I can truly prepare her for ascension.” 

“As you command, Heda,” Nyssa bowed deeply in acceptance of the orders. “Kara, Alex, and I will leave at first light.” 

Diana dismissed her general with a quick nod of her head and turned back to her ruminations. It was nearing midday now, the Natblidas would soon break for lunch and Nyssa would inform her young charges of their travel plans. Kara would be dismissed from her Nightblood training for the afternoon to pack and prepare for her trip. In the evening, after dinner but before Kara went to bed, Diana would take her back to the Heart Stone beneath Polis and give Kara her own instructions to follow as she trained with Nyssa and Alex. It was a change, just as it had been when Kara first arrived here accompanied by fire from the sky. It was the first of many changes that Diana could feel beginning to brush across the land like a winter wind, the kind of change that everyone knows is coming but none ever truly expects. 

It is the kind of change that will either lead their people to salvation, or extinction. 

~

Kara wasn’t expecting to be sad when she left Polis behind her. She rode proudly on the back of El, her horse a gorgeous dark brown in color and well trained by Kara under Nyssa’s guidance, with Alex and Nyssa. Their fos rode a half length in front of where Kara and Alex rode side by side, their saddlebags laden with clothes, provisions, and a plethora of tools to maintain their weapons. Kara had a bow and a quiver of arrows on her back and a dagger strapped to her thigh. Alex and Nyssa were the same, with the addition of their swords. While not a common practice, Nyssa believed that the best weapons were made by the warriors who wielded them. Alex had crafted her own blade mere months before they had come to Polis, Kara would follow suit in a few months.Kara was excited for that, almost as excited as she was to design her first tattoo. Of course, neither of those things were going to happen any time soon but thinking about them kept her mind from straying to the sad thoughts of her leaving. 

Kara would miss Polis, the noises of the city during the day and the quietness at night. She would miss the markets in the city and the people who helped her accept her new world, whether they knew of the part they played or not. Kara would miss the other Natblidas as well. Bart and Artemis would be leaving Polis as well in the next week, returning to their home villages with their own fos to train with and learn from. Arthur and Tana won’t be far behind them, and then Trent. It’s an odd feeling really, Kara hasn’t known these people for more than a year and yet she feels like her life will be irrevocably changed without them.

Most of all, Kara will miss Diana. The kind Heda who had taken her in and trained her up, who held her all night so Kara could finally rest. She had kept her promise over the past year to take Kara back to the Heart of Polis whenever they had the time and Kara was incredibly grateful for the lessons she learned during that time, about the past Commanders and how they spoke to Diana. It wasn’t a lesson common for a Nightblood, Kara knew that none of the others had spoken with Diana about it even if they were curious. They had all aquised to Diana’s belief that Kara would be the next Heda. 

Kara’s mood darkened slightly at the thought. She had only recently found out what it took to become Heda. She was sure that Diana hadn’t meant to reveal that particular memory yet but she had been lost in the story she had been telling Kara, the story of how Diana trained and fought and eventually won the title of Heda. Kara wasn’t looking forward to her own Conclave, no matter how much everyone else thought she would win, Kara didn’t want to become Heda if that cost the lives of twelve other children. 

“Stop thinking about it,” Alex’s sharp command brought Kara out of her thoughts and she turned to look at her sister second. “You have years to prepare. By the time the Conclave comes, you will be ready.” 

“I don’t want to be ready for that,” Kara protested immediately. “I should not have to accept my people being killed for the sake of my ascension.” 

“You must accept that Kara,” Nyssa said without turning back to her seconds. “You must earn your ascension through battle.” 

“That doesn’t mean I have to kill the other Natblidas.” 

“No?” Nyssa did turn her head then, looking at Kara with a carefully blank expression. 

“No,” Kara replied adamantly. “You can take someone out of a fight without killing them.” 

“You can, if you are a good enough warrior,” Nyssa acknowledged, pulling on the reins to bring her horse to a stop. She directed the animal to turn and face her seconds as she regarded Kara carefully. “Do you think you are good enough?” 

“No,” Kara deflated slightly. She wasn’t as good as Bart or Artemis yet, they both had years of training experience over Kara. Although Kara had earned the respect of the other three oldest Nightbloods, Bart, Artemis, and Tana, she had yet to best any of them in combat. The reminder brought up the sharp doubt that always lingered in the back of her mind, that what Kal had seen before he died that made him believe Kara to be a True Heda was wrong and Kara was nothing more than a powerless girl living on the wrong planet. 

“No?” Nyssa questioned, watching Kara’s expression carefully. Though her face remained mostly blank, Kara couldn’t conceal the turmoil in her eyes or the way she clenched her jaw just yet. It was enough of a tell for Nyssa to know that the flame in Kara’s heart still burned brightly, but was in battle with the shadow of fear in her mind. Kara’s shoulders heaved in a sigh and she shook her head. “Kara, you are a better warrior than you believe yourself to be.” 

“I’m not as good as the others.” 

“Perhaps not yet,” Nyssa turned her horse back around and began to walk again. “But that does not mean that you won’t be better than them later. Or perhaps you simply believe me to be a bad fos, unfit to train you.” 

“No, I don’t believe that about you. You’ve already done so much for me,” Kara shook her head again, as if trying to rid herself of any negative thoughts with the motion alone. 

“Then trust in the lessons I still have to teach you,” Nyssa glanced back of her shoulder to see Kara’s acknowledging nod. “So that when the time comes and you must enter your Conclave, if you do not wish to kill your blood brothers and sisters, you will not have to.” 

“What if I lose?” Kara asked softly. 

“Then you die in peace, knowing your hands are clean of black blood.” 

“And if I win?” 

“Then the great changes Pramheda Kal foresaw those many years ago will begin to come true, and a Heda unlike any other will rise.” 

Kara didn’t respond, not that Nyssa had expected her too, but when Nyssa glanced at her again there was something different about Kara. It was a subtle difference, Nyssa doubted that she would have seen it in Kara if she hadn’t been looking for the signs but Nyssa’s words had done exactly as Nyssa had hoped. The shadow of fear in Kara’s eyes, while still there, had grown the slightest bit lighter, the fire in her heart shining just that much brighter. It wasn’t much, but it was only the beginning. 

Kara was leaving Polis with the beginnings of the training that would turn her into a formidable warrior. It was Nyssa’s intention that Kara would return to Polis, a warrior in her own right, ready and capable to enact the changes her ascension will bring to their world. This was the greatest task that Diana had ever entrusted Nyssa with and Nyssa was determined not to fail her Heda or her second. The fate of their world depended on it. 

It took three days of riding to return to the village that Alex and Nyssa called home, near the border of TriKru territory. They had had to travel in the night for the last leg of the journey, carefully skirting around the Mountain territory using the stars and moon as a guide. They arrived in the village just as the sun began to crest over the horizon on the morning of their fourth day travelling. 

“It’s good to be home,” Alex said softly to Kara, a rare smile being shown openly on her face. Alex closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath, reveling in the smell and sound of the place she had grown up in. For a moment, Kara was envious. She would never get the chance to do as Alex could now, not truly. Perhaps she would have a similar feeling when she returned to Polis, but she would never know the joy of stepping into the town she had known all her life again. 

“Come, girls. Alex’s parents are expecting us for breakfast,” Nyssa ordered after the three of them had dismounted from their steeds and stripped the horses of their saddlebags in the small stabes behind the house the three of them would be sharing while they stayed in the village. 

“Yes, Nyssa,” the young warriors replied in tandem and quickly carried their belongings inside the house to place them in their rooms. They didn’t linger there long, despite Kara wanting to take a closer look at everything, and soon enough the three of them were walking along a well worn path towards a warm, welcoming home on the other side of the village. Jeremiah and Eliza, Alex’s parents, were as eager to see their daughter as Alex was to see them and welcomed all three girls into their home. 

“Nyssa, it is good to see you again,” Eliza said as she led the group to a small dining table where a meal was already prepared. “And you’ve taken on another seken?” 

“Yes,” Nyssa nodded slightly towards Kara who was speaking with Alex and Jeremiah. “She comes from a village that does not allow women to be warriors and so she was far behind in her training, but she has improved greatly since arriving in Polis.” 

Eliza nodded in understanding of the unspoken words, that Kara is a Natblida, and gestured for Nyssa to take her customary place at the small table in the dining room. 

“I had no idea such villages existed.” 

“They are rare, but exist, just as the people who believe Heda is not fit to lead because she is a woman.” 

“Yes, yes, the world is full of idiots,” Jeremiah interjected with a laugh. Alex and Kara looked at one another with smiles before turning back to their meals. Jeremiah’s expression then became more serious. “How goes the conflict against the Mountain?”

“The Mountain Shadow still looms, as do the Reapers in the forest,” Nyssa sighed. “Heda works to bring the clans together under one banner, but the progress is slow.” 

“Unsurprising,” Jeremiah states in a tired sort of way, like rehashing an old argument. “There have been rumors of Glowing Forest and Broadleaf skirmishes along the border, and Azgeda still refuses to trade with those they deem less than they are.” 

“Let’s not discuss politics at the dinner table,” Eliza butted in smoothly. “Alex, Kara, how has your training been?” 

As Alex and Kara launch into an explanation of the training they had undergone, Nyssa thinks about Jeremiah’s words. While the clans are friendly enough for working trade routes and occasional alliances, a separation exists. It is something Heda Diana has mentioned often, their people are too divided to take down the Mountain, too busy fighting wars against one another. The Mountain will not fall until all the clans are united under one banner, and Nyssa fears that that responsibility will fall onto the shoulders of Kara. It is then that Nyssa’s mental plans for Kara’s training shift. They will spend the next year here in TriKru territory until Alex has completed her trials and earned her first mark. Alex will be released as Nyssa’s seken then, so Kara and Nyssa will travel around the clans for the remainder of the years Kara will spend training with her, until they are called back to Polis by Heda. This way, Kara will be able to make her own allies in the clans, so when the time comes for her to call the clans together, they will answer her call. 

By the time Nyssa returns to her home with her young sekens, the moon is high in the sky and all of their spirits are lifted after the long journey and the time spent with Eliza and Jeremiah. Kara and Alex both wish Nyssa a good night before making their way to their own rooms to put their belongings away and get some rest. Nyssa stays up for a little while longer, enjoying being in her own home for the first time in a long while and listening for any signs of distress from Kara now that she’s sleeping in her own room again. When no sign of Kara’s nightmares returning appears, Nyssa makes her way to her own quarters to wash up and climb into her own bed. Tomorrow Kara’s training will kick up a notch or two. Nyssa intends to return the young Nightblood to Polis with the confidence that she is the best warrior in the city and the skill to back that confidence up. 

She would go above and beyond what Heda Diana asked of her, just as Nyssa had always done, and deep down, she would revel in the smile she would get in return for her work. 

Kara was panting, sweat rolling down her back and across her forehead as she and Alex faced off again in the small clearing just to the south of Nyssa’s home. This is where they had done the majority of their combat training since they arrived in the village so they wouldn’t disturb the normal functions of the village but they often had a crowd around them anyway and today was no different. Kara could hear the low murmurs of the growing crowd as she and Alex continued to spar. The crowd was bigger than normal, a group of villagers from the TriKru capitol Ton D.C. had come to the village for trading and followed the noise of the crowd. Kara could hear them talking about her with the regular watchers. They all knew this battle was important for Kara. If she bested Alex, Kara would be deemed ready to craft her own blades and design her warpaint. This was an important milestone in any warrior's life, but it was extra important to Kara. This was the first step to believing that she could be the great Heda that Diana, Alex, Nyssa, and the other Natblidas believed she could be. 

Her muscles were straining as she deflected another blow from Alex, swinging her blade around to strike against Alex’s side. It was clear that her sister second was not holding back on Kara, that Kara would have to earn her stripes in the same way that Alex had. Alex blocked that strike and deflected the next one as well, swiping her leg out to try and knock Kara off balance as she ducked under the blade. Kara jumped over Alex’s leg and struck the palm of her hand with her blade, riding Alex of any weapon. This didn’t stop Alex from attacking Kara with her bare hands but when it came to brute strength, Kara had the advantage. The last traces of the Kryptonian blood that now ran black in her veins gifted Kara with speed and strength unlike any other warrior. Only Heda Diana was a match for Kara. 

Kara had Alex subdued quickly, holding her with the sharpest portion of her blade poised against Alex’s neck, both arms pinned down and Alex being held in a truly uncomfortable position with Kara’s knee resting in the center of her back. 

“ _ Yield. _ ” 

The word came out as a strict order, spoken in low tones with an obvious undertone of warning. Alex struggled against the hold for a moment and Kara changed her grip, wrapping her arm fully around Alex’s neck and applying more pressure as Alex continued to struggle. Kara repeated the order. 

A moment passed where Kara almost released her grip, defeated by Alex’s sheer force of will, but then something changed. The air grew still, the crowd fell silent. Kara felt something rising in her chest like an animal preparing to launch on its prey. There was a whisper in her mind. 

_ Don’t let go. You will be Heda. You will win.  _

Kara tightened her grip on Alex and angled her head down so she could talk in Alex’s ear. 

“ _ You cannot defeat me. Yield. _ ” 

A moment passed, Alex’s breathing was ragged and deep, the air she tried to take in struggling to make it to her lungs and out again. Kara held on until finally Alex lifted one hand and tapped Kara’s hand twice. 

Alex collapsed to the side, coughing harshly, as Kara let her go. It was only when Kara stood to her full height and looked up that she noticed the applause from the gathered crowd. 

“Well done, Kara,” Nyssa made her way through the crowd that parted for her. Her eyes were alight with pride for her young pupil even as Kara bowed her head. “It is time for you to design your warrior mark and craft your blades. The blacksmith awaits with the supplies for both.” 

“Thank you, General,” Kara said as she lifted her head. Nyssa stepped closer and dropped her voice to a whisper. 

“You did well Kara, I am very proud of you. Heda will be as well, once she hears of this,” Nyssa clasped Kara’s forearm just as she would any warrior under her service. Kara smiled at her words and the reminder of Diana’s continued interest in her training, even after a full winter and half summer had passed since Kara had last been in Polis. “Go now and when we meet again, you will be a warrior ready for battle.” 

Kara bowed again and hurried off, resisting the urge to turn and check on Alex. She had known that Alex wouldn’t get up immediately after the battle, had known that Nyssa would pay her eldest seken little attention until Kara was away from the crowd. Alex and Nyssa had both explained the ritual to Kara several times beforehand. Kara had to contend herself with the knowledge that Alex would be perfectly fine the next time they saw one another, after Kara had forged her blades. 

The blacksmith was waiting for Kara just as she’d been told would happen and they didn’t waste a moment. They began with taking measurements, testing various handles and blades to see what felt comfortable for Kara. That done and the measurements recorded, Kara began the long process of heating and shaping her blades, one at a time until they reached the length she wanted. Next she affixed the handles to them and rested while she waited for the adhesive material to seal. The blacksmith provided a small meal for Kara as well as a bowl of black war paint. As the blades cooled and set so they could be sharpened, Kara sat herself down before a polished mirror with the war paint. 

For a moment, Kara simply stared at her face and hands in the mirror, taking in all the marks she had gained since arriving on earth two summers ago. Her hands were scared and calloused, her features sharper than they had been before. She wondered what her mother would think of her now, of the world she lived in and the people she hoped to one day lead. She wondered if her mother would be proud of the woman Kara was becoming, if she would approve of the journey Kara was on. Of course, thinking of her mother brought up other memories of Krypton and her family, the world she had left behind. Kara thought of Krypton’s strict rules and practices, the precise way everything had been done, from the way they wrote to the way they acted to the way they had children. It was so different from the life she led now, as a warrior, where the rules were less strict, the actions softer even in their violence. A sudden idea struck Kara and she picked up the war paint. 

She started with a simple straight line that ran from the corner of her eye to the edge of her nose, the line sharp and precise before being mirrored on the other side. Next came three uneven lines, one going out towards her ears, one straight down from her eye and the other straight up over her eyebrow. The lines tapered to points at different lengths, mirroring the stars that Kara had come from. Finally, Kara placed smudged circular shapes on either side of the straight lines going from her eyes, blurring the edges so they were less exact, these to mimic the tears that had once left Kara’s eyes in mourning and the way she had now changed. From the straight line her life would have taken on Krypton to the smudged edges of life on earth. 

As the paint dried on her face, Kara set to work sharpening and treating her blades and their handles before moving on to sewing bits of treated leather together to make the sheaths. She worked meticulously, unaware of the sunset or the moonrise. It was only when the sun began to crest the horizon again on the dawn of a new day that Kara’s blades were ready. She strapped them across her back in the shape of an x, adjusting the leather straps so they sat comfortably on her back. She practiced unsheathing them and then resheathing them a few times before finally leaving the blades strapped to her back and exiting the blacksmith’s workshop with a word of thanks to the man who had aided her in the creation of her weapons. 

Kara made the journey back to Nyssa’s home easily, a new confidence in her walk. The villagers smiled at Kara as she passed, some offering compliments and praises on Kara’s warpaint and others asking to see her newly forged weapons. Kara was happy to oblige them even if it delayed her travel home but eventually she reached the end of the path. 

“I thought we’d have to send a hunting party out after you,” Alex said as Kara stepped into the home. “Nyssa is waiting outside.” 

“How’s your throat?” Kara asked, noting the roughness of Alex’s voice. 

“Healing, I should be ready to go by the time the scouting party is ready to leave,” Alex couldn’t keep waiting and turned to look at Kara, taking in her warpaint and the blades on her back. Kara looked confident, comfortable, as at peace as any TriKru warrior. She was a warrior that Alex was proud to call her sister. “It suits you.” 

“Thanks,” Kara pulled on the leather straps a bit, her cheeks coloring slightly. “Your mission begins tonight?” 

“We leave at dusk,” Alex’s first mission without her fos, simple in theory but one that could easily become deadly. Scouting around the Mountain was never easy, nor was gathering intel on the Reapers as Alex was instructed to do.

“Come back in one piece,” Kara said teasingly, but her eyes showed her earnestness. 

“I will,” Alex held her arm out and she and Kara clasped forearms briefly. “You should get outside. We’ll have time to say goodbye later.” 

Kara inclined her head slightly and stepped around her sister seken to leave the house through the backdoor. Nyssa waited for her in the middle of the yard. 

“Welcome back, warrior,” Nyssa greeted Kara. “There is someone here to see you.” 

Kara kept the surprise off her face but she couldn’t hold back her joy as Heda stepped out of the treeline. 

“Heda,” Kara cheered, taking two steps forward before she remembered to bow. Diana bowed slightly in return with a small laugh. “I am happy to see you.” 

“I am as well, Kara, to see both of you,” Diana offered both warriors a warm smile. “Today is important for you and your journey as a warrior, I felt like I could not miss it. I also bring gifts.” 

Kara accepted the bag Diana held out towards her. 

“Your Natblida brothers and sisters send their congratulations as well,” Diana began and then continued to narrate the gifts that Kara pulled from the bag. Carved animals from the younger Natblidas, a new set of wet stones to sharpen her blades from the older ones, and a set of wrist guards from Bart and Artemis. “They hope to see your return to Polis for the winter festival, as do I.” 

“We will be happy to return to Polis, Heda,” Nyssa spoke for her and her seken. She gazed at Diana for a moment longer and then turned away. “I must speak with Alex as she prepares for her mission. With your permission, Heda, I take my leave.” 

Diana nodded once and watched as Nyssa walked away from them, towards the house. Kara followed her gaze, noticing that Diana and Nyssa did a lot of watching one another when they thought the other wasn’t looking, but she stayed silent. 

“Tell me of your training,” Diana requested, and Kara did so in great detail for several hours. Diana listened patiently to it all, giving praise and thoughts as Kara explained what she learned and how it built on the things she had learned in Polis. Conversation then turned to the happenings in Polis, both with Diana and the novitiates, and they spoke for several hours. The only interruption came when Kara’s stomach made her hunger known with a loud rumble and the two retreated inside for a late lunch with Alex and Nyssa. Diana wished the young warrior luck on her first mission.

“Alex will earn her braid once she returns and be released as my seken,” Nyssa told Diana when the two young girls had stepped away for a moment near dusk to say their goodbyes to one another. “Then Kara and I will begin to travel to the other clans, as you requested.” 

“Good,” Diana nodded her head slightly. “She has done well,” her head turned and she met Nyssa’s eyes. “You have done well, with Alex and Kara.” 

“I live to serve, Heda, and I will do so to the best of my ability,” Nyssa replied but found herself unable to look Diana in the eyes. She knew if she did, Diana would see everything Nyssa felt. Diana had always seen straight through Nyssa, even before she ascended, when they were both young warriors tailing their own first’s. It only became more difficult to conceal her feelings as she grew older and stronger, rising through the ranks of the TriKru army until she became Heda’s General. Nyssa knew that her feelings for Diana would never be more than what they were, even if Diana would survive longer than another three years. No Heda since PramHeda Kal had had a Queen, very few of them even had consorts. It was something that Diana had told Nyssa shortly after she ascended. To be Heda is to be alone. 

“Perhaps I should leave you to your thoughts,” Diana said as Nyssa pulled herself out of her mind. 

“I apologize Heda, I did not mean to be lost in thought,” Nyssa bowed her head slightly, barely concealing a gasp of surprise when Diana’s warm fingertips rested under her chin and pulled her gaze back up. 

“Don’t apologize,” Diana whispered, “not when it’s my fault you can’t say what you are thinking.” 

“You know.” It wasn’t a question but Diana nodded anyway. 

“I have always known, you never could hide from me,” Diana chuckled softly. “But this is all we can ever be.” 

“Then I shall treasure every moment,” Nyssa let her own voice drop to a whisper and rested her head against Diana’s, close enough to feel each exhale against her lips but not closing the gap completely. They remained that way until footsteps warned of the approaching Kara and Alex, who appeared around the corner moments after Diana and Nyssa separated. 

“You have everything?” Nyssa asked Alex, her voice giving away nothing of her emotional turmoil. 

“Sha,” Alex gestured vaguely to the saddle bags that were already strapped to the strong back of her horse. “The scouting party awaits at the southern treeline.” 

“Then you best be off,” Nyssa held out her arm and gripped Alex along her forearm for a moment before releasing her and pulling her into a short hug. “May the spirits bless you on your path.” 

Alex bowed her head slightly, stepped back and then swung up onto her horse. Kara stepped up beside Nyssa as Alex turned her steed and rode away. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope you guys are liking the story so far! I just wanted to mention that this is based on the 100-verse but I'm taking a lot of creative liberties when it comes to Grounder Culture (also I stopped watching the 100 after 3x07 so anything learned about grounders after that is news to me anyway). 
> 
> Anyway, next chapter we'll see Kara finally reaching ascension, and then after that, we'll see what Lena has been up to for all these years. 
> 
> Thanks to everyone who's left a comment or kudos, they really make my day better.
> 
> See y'all on the next chapter.

**Author's Note:**

> And there's chapter one! Chapter two is already written and will hopefully be up soon! Please let me not what you think (nicely - I'm not opposed to constructive criticism, but flames will be deleted and I will turn off anon commenting if I feel it's necessary) and I'll see you for the next chapter.


End file.
